Chelsea saw their two-week pre-season tour of the United States come to an end in awful fashion on Sunday morning (UK) following a 4-0 thrashing by Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side ran riot in Orlando thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Sambi Lokonga at the Camping World Stadium to earn the Gunners a huge victory.
It drew their preparations Stateside to a close which saw them jet back to England on Sunday to continue getting ready for the 2022/23 season which is now just two weeks away.
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But the United States has been a challenging and demanding period for Chelsea, who were welcomed by several of their new owners’ during their time across the pond, including co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, as well as Hansjorg Wyss and Jonathan Goldstein.
The Blues’ fitness levels looked well below their London rivals Arsenal on Sunday, showing the difference between Arsenal playing their fifth game of pre-season and Chelsea embarking on just their third.
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Chelsea’s time in the US saw them do a lot of travelling, a total of flights in total from when they took off from London and landed back in the English capital.
Thomas Tuchel’s side visited four cities and it took its toll, with the Chelsea head coach admitting: "It was long, it was long for sure (the tour).
“We could feel the energy level drop after Las Vegas and after the Charlotte game because of the amount of travelling, very humidity, and very hot temperature. It made it tough because it's now been two weeks on the road.
"It's also a point but it’s a little point or explanation why we did not look fresh. I did not expect it today. I thought we lowered the intensity a little bit in training the last days, but not in a way where we could expect fresh legs. So that was not the biggest surprise, just the difference between tired and playing like this."
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Overview of Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the United States, which saw them spend two weeks in America.
Games Played: 3
Wins: 1
Draws: 1*
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Losses: 1
Goals Scored: 3 (Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount)
Goals Against: 6 (Club America - 1, Charlotte FC - 1, Arsenal - 4)
Cities Visited: 4 (Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Orlando)
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Flights Taken: 6
*After 90 minutes
Chelsea’s problems on the pitch were clear to see. Although pre-season is an exercise to build match fitness, they managed to score just three goals, one of which was a stunning strike from Mason Mount. In that time, they also conceded six goals, including a penalty against Charlotte FC.
The Premier League season is just around the corner, with less than two weeks until it gets going again and Tuchel remains unsure if his side will be ready to face Everton on the opening day of the new Premier League season.
Chelsea’s travelling continues next week. They will be back at their Cobham training ground for a few days before flying to Italy to face Udinese in their final game of pre-season.
Tuchel is dealing with a squad that only has two new signings, a lot of players who are thinking about leaving, and that is clearly affecting the balance and performance of the team. His frustrations were evident during his brutally honest post-match press conference.
The 48-year-old has accepted it isn’t good enough from his side, and the US tour appears to have been more of a detriment than positive for the Blues, which is not ideal preparation for the earlier season start date.
All that Chelsea can do now, is to dust themselves down and try to forget about the performances on the Stateside trip and work on what needs to be improved on to ensure they are in the best possible position to beat Everton on 6 August.
Topics: Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel, Football
Matthew Debono